Farmville Homicide Information

In Memory of Dr. Debra S. Kelley

In Memory of Dr. Debra S. Kelley

The Longwood chapter of Lambda Alpha Epsilon, the national criminal justice fraternity, is sponsoring a Living Memorial to Dr. Debra Kelley on campus, in the form of a tree with an accompanying bench. LAE is seeking contributions to make this memorial possible.

Anyone wishing to donate funds to this living memorial should send a check payable to the Longwood University Foundation. In the For/Purpose line on your check, please write: Dr. Kelley Memorial.

You may send checks to the University Advancement office in Lancaster Hall via campus mail, or drop off in Lancaster 118-A. Or, you may mail to: Linda Locke, Office of University Advancement, Longwood University, 201 High Street, Farmville, VA 23909.

An Open Message to Parents and the Longwood Community from Dr. Tim Pierson, Vice President for Student Affairs

Sent 09-23-09

Thanks to all of you who have replied and shared supportive comments and suggestions during the events of the last few days. As a parent I understand and share the concerns expressed by some regarding the safety and security of our students at Longwood University. The events of last week in Farmville were tragic and both the town and university are still dealing with the aftershocks.

However, we do want to assure you that Longwood has an emergency communication protocol system that was in place as this incident was assessed. It was determined quickly that the situation did not warrant the activation of our emergency alert system. It is important that you understand how and why we reached that conclusion:

The Farmville Police Department and Longwood University Police Department first learned of the slayings Friday afternoon, when the bodies were discovered in a Farmville residence at 505 First Avenue. According to police reports, the bodies were decomposed beyond recognition leading to the accurate conclusion that the murders had been committed some time earlier. Given that timeframe and forensic evidence, Longwood University did not declare an emergency or activate its emergency alert system-in accordance with our emergency communication protocol-but did notify faculty, staff, and students via e-mail on Friday night after enough facts had been gathered and verified to make a statement to the campus. Longwood Chief of Police Robert Beach stated that "the incident did not pose any verifiable or immediate threat to the campus community and the emergency alert system is activated only in the event of an emergency." Additional e-mails and web updates at www.longwood.edu <http://www.longwood.edu/> were posted throughout the day on Saturday.

Please note this was, and continues to be, an active and intensive investigation involving multiple law enforcement agencies. Longwood officials began seeking information as soon as we were informed of the event, but reliable and accurate information was extremely difficult to gather. We did, however, have enough information from the initial police reports to conclude accurately that this incident did not pose an "imminent and verifiable" threat to either the campus or community.

A memorial service is being planned and we shall post any updates on our website at www.longwood.edu.

As we deal with the tragic news about Dr. Kelley and her family, and move through the sad days ahead, I know that the Longwood Spirit will see us through.

Longwood professor among multiple murder victims in Farmville

09.22.09 11:00 a.m.

At a press conference held at the Farmville Town Hall this morning, Longwood University received confirmation from officials that the four victims discovered in a Farmville residence on Friday, Sept. 18 have been positively identified by the Medical Examiner's Office. The victims are Farmville residents Dr. Debra S. Kelley, 53, associate professor of sociology at Longwood University, along with her daughter Emma Niederbrock, 16, her husband Mark Alan Niederbrock, 50, and Melanie Wells, a family friend from Inwood, West Virginia.

Longwood Counseling Services Available

09.19.09 2:00 p.m.

Students who feel the need to talk about the situation in Farmville this weekend should contact a Longwood University counselor by following the normal on-call procedures of notifying an Resident Assistant (RA), Residence Education Coordinator (REC) or the Longwood University Police dispatch at 434.395.2091.

UPDATE on multiple homicides in Farmville

09-19-09 11:30 a.m.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported this morning (9.19.09) that a suspect has been identified in the multiple homicides that were discovered by Farmville Police yesterday afternoon in Farmville. To read the story, go to:

An e-mail message was sent to all students, faculty, and staff last night about this incident, but police officials have not yet released the identity of the victims, and we are awaiting that information from the Medical Examiner.

Updates will be posted on the Longwood University website as this story evolves. Please note: the Longwood University emergency alert system was not activated since this was an off-campus crime and initial reports indicated that the crime had occurred several days ago due to the decomposition of the bodies. According to police officials, the incident did not pose any verifiable or immediate threat to the campus community and the emergency alert system is only activated in the event of an emergency.

Email from Tim Pierson, Vice President for Student Affairs, to the campus community

Sent 09-19-09

Longwood Community:

We know that the recent homicides in Farmville are causing great concern among the Longwood and Farmville communities. The text of the following email was sent to all Longwood students, faculty, and staff last night. Since that time, we have learned that a suspect has been identified. This suspect is not a Longwood student nor has he ever been a Longwood student. I refer you to the following link to the most recent Richmond Times-Dispatch story about this tragedy.

The Longwood University web page will post news updates as this story evolves. Please note, the Longwood University emergency alert system was not activated since this was an off-campus crime and initial reports indicated that the crime had occurred several days ago due to the decomposition of the bodies. The incident did not pose any verifiable or immediate threat to the campus community and the emergency alert system is only activated in the event of an emergency.

Thank you for your understanding and patience.

Email from Tim Pierson, Vice President for Student Affairs, to the campus community

Sent 09-18-09

Longwood Community:

You may have heard the sad news about the tragedy on First Avenue this afternoon. Initial reports from the Longwood and Farmville Police departments indicate that multiple victims were found dead in a residence on First Avenue in Farmville. The deceased have not yet been identified by the Medical Examiner's office and we are awaiting confirmation of their identity.

The Farmville Police Department and the Virginia State Police have begun an intensive investigation of this incident, but have not yet released any further details.

As we learn more details of the investigation, we shall keep you informed. In the meantime we encourage you to monitor local news sources. The Longwood Police Department reminds you to stay alert and report any suspicious activity to the campus police at 395.2091 or call 911.

Longwood Counseling Services Available

Students who feel the need to talk about the situation in Farmville should contact a Longwood University counselor by following the normal on-call procedures of notifying an Resident Assistant (RA), Residence Education Coordinator (REC) or the Longwood University Police dispatch at 434.395.2091.